Novels

The T Party isn’t just for short-story writers; many of our members are working on novels, too. We provide support for novelists through workshops and critiques, although the process is a bit different to the way that our usual meetings run.

Group critiques are restricted to the first three chapters and the synopsis of a novel – the sample on which most agents and commissioning editors make their initial assesssment of the work. This is enough for the group to get a feel for the story and offer useful comments to the writer as to how the plot and characters are developing, how marketable it is, and so on.

After the first three chapters, it is up to the writer to find volunteers in the group who are prepared to read the rest of the novel and offer feedback. This must be done outside of normal meeting time, and the writer must arrange to receive the volunteers’ comments independently. They usually organise an extra workshop dedicated to their novel.

The novel’s author calls all the shots regarding this dedicated workshop. If you are not invited to attend a novel workshop, do not be offended! If the author has decided to have a limited number of people attend, they probably feel that there are other T Party members more familiar with the novel’s genre than you are.